Machine for breaking and cleaning fibrous material.



W. A.& A. M. SHELY. MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

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d w m www Q \QN M I xr\! m 1 haw P QQN APPLICATION FILED AUG-.8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION PILED'M IGJ, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

1,047,998. Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY. MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL. APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 1912- 1,047,998. Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

"(r WW I W. A. &' A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912. 1,047,998.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETSSHEET 4.

Menfior x AHQQJZ J mg M N WN 56,62; I AJZ w. A. & A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING PIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION I'ILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912. A I 1,047,99 Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY. MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

1 ,O47,998 Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

'12 SHEETS-SHEET 6.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING PIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETS-SHEET 7.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. B, 1905 RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETFr-SHEET B.

W. & A. M. SHBLY. V MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

1,047,998. Patented De0.24,1912.

W 12 SHEETSSHEET 9.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY.

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

1,047,998, Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETSSHEET l0.

. SHELY.-

MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.8, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETSSHEET 11.

W. A. & A. M. SHELY. MACHINE FOR BREAKING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL.

APPLICATION IILEDAUGJ, 1905. RENEWED MAY 29, 1912.

1,047,998, Patented Dec. 24, 1912.

12 SHEETSSHEET 12.

M itneSSeS: lnmzzzto rs.

@M W JlaZa/M S UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A SHE'LY AND ALIDA M. SHE-LY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

- MACHINE FOB BREAKII N'G AND CLEANING FIBBOUS MATERIAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24,, 1912.

Application filed August 8, 1905, Serial No. 273,252. Renewed May 29, 1912. Serial No. 700,544.

To, all 107mm it may concern; I

'Beit known that we, \VILLIAM. A. 'SHELY and ALDA M. SHELY, citizensof the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, have jointly in vented certain new and useful Improvements in-Machines for Breaking and Cleana other fibrous plants and materials.

In the art to which this invention relates machines are known which are adapted to feed the stalks laterally into contact with rotary cylinders arranged in oblique relation to each other and having spiral ribs or heater blades, the stalks being fed between break bars and such cylinders, as illustrated and described 'in our former United States Patents Nos. 759,197, 759,198 and 759,199.

A feed table having inclined sides and pro-- vided with feed chain mechanism and reciprocating or vibrating toothed bars for feeding the stalkssueh table being adapted to have .its apex raised and lowered-is also known.

tent than the central portions. 40

It is found in practice, however, that inmachines having rotary heaters which are cylindricalin other words, of the same d1- ameter throughout their entire length and provided with mechanism ifor feeding stalks laterally at a substantially uniform speed into position to be operated upon by such cylinders from the ends of the stalks toward the centerthe ends of the stalks will be beaten and scutched to a-greater exfound to be jvery desirable that the rotary beaters should be of skeleton or open-work form and that-the beater blades should have an outer peripheral surface portion receding toward the heel of the blade; that suitable of he .long cylinder or rotatable beater after passing beyond the breaking edge of the breaker bar, so as to be thoroughly whipped and cleaned before being dis- It is also charged from the machine, that a suitable feedchaln-suppo-rting device should be'provided in the form of a saddle mounted above the apex of the main feed table and having suitable means forsupporting such saddle and its feed chain mechanism in parallel relation to the upper edge or apex of the main feed table in different adjusted positions; and that means be provided for raising and lowering the apex of the main feed table and the saddle, with'its feed chain mechanism, to different adjusted positions and holdinghem parallel in any desired adjusted position.

It is likewise desirable to provide means for enabling the apex of the main feed table to be raised andlowered and the inclined I side portions thereof extended or collapsed as desired without materially altering the position of the lower edges of the table with relation to the break bars and rotary heaters,

and without materially: altering the position of the lower end of the apex or rear point of the central ridge of the table, and'also adapted to permit the lower rear portions of the feed chain mounted upon the saddle to extend as closely as possible to the point of convergence between the rotary heaters and the feeding mechanisms.

' It is also desirable to provide means for keeping the feed chains in'operative position with relation to the feed tables and saddle, and taut'in all positions to which they may be adjusted in use; to provide a portable framework suitably inclosed and adapted to cover the rotary heaters and elliciently support the working parts; to provide means for preventing the fiber from winding around the rotating parts in the form of stationary shields for all rotating parts of the machine, including the shafts and wheels; to provide suitable means for discharging the hurds or pith of the stalks from the machine; and to provide simple,

and eflicient mechanism for operat-ively conneeting and driving or operating the various parts which constitute the complete organiz ed machine.

The principal object of our invention is to provide a simple, economical and efficient machine for breaking and scutching or cleaning fibrous material, possessing theadvantages and'adapted to accomplish the de-. sirable purposes above set forth.

Other and furtherrobjects of the invention will appear from an examination of the drawings and the following description and claims.

The invention consists in the features. combinations and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed. In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance with our improvements; Fig. 2 a plan view of the machine; Fig. 3 a plan view of the conical rotary beaters with the upper partsof the machine removed; Fig. 4 a front end elevation, showing the mechanism for raising and lowering the feed table and saddlemechanism; Fig. 5-an enlarged transverse sectional elevation, taken on line 50f Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow and showing the rotary beaters and the break barsand shields and inclosed framework in section; Fig. 6 a sec tional distorted detail view in transverse elevation of the upper portion or main feed table and saddle mechanism, with other parts removed, and showing the position of the rotary heaters in dottedlines; Fig. 7 .a longitudinal sectional elevation of a portion of the machine, showing the mechanism for supporting the main feed table so, as to permit its adjustment vertically; Fig. 7 a rear elevation in detail showing the bracket or supporting arm which supports the rear end of. the saddle; Fig. 8 a front view of the supplementary feed table; Fig. 9 a side view thereof; Fig. 10 a fragmentary sectional view, taken on line 10 of Fig. 9; Fig. 11 a fragmentary sectional view,'taken on line 11 of Fig. 9; Fig. 12 a similar view, taken on line 12 of Fig- 9; Fig. 13 a longitudinal detail sectional view in elevation, showing the longitudinally vibrating hurddischarging pan and its operating mechanism; Fig. 14 a similar longitudinal detail sectional view in elevation, showing one of the transversely vibrating hurd-discharging' pans with its operating mechanism; Fig. 15 a detail plan view of the shaft and bell crank lever and rod mechanism for operating. the hurd-dischargingpans; Fig. 16 aplan view of the mechanism for movably supporting the central sprocket wheel shaft mechanism; Fig. 17 a detail view in elevation of one of the vibrating toothed feed parts, with bars broken away; Fig. 18 a view-in elevation of one of the' sprocket wheels for operating the toothed feed chains, such as the top central feed chain; Fig. 19 a sectional view of the sprocket wheel shown in Fig. 18, showing the kind of non-rotatable casing or shield used on all rotating shafts and exposed wheels; Fig. 20 a detail view in elevation of a fragment of one of thetoothedfeed chains; Fig. 21 a plan view of the chain shown in'Fig. "20; Fig. 22 a diagrammatic view of the driving and feed chain mechanisms of the mafor operating and supporting the same and Fig. 23 a detail view in elevation of the' mechanism for supporting, guiding and adjusting the forward ends of the saddle and feed table respectively.

In constructing a machine for breaking and cleaning fibrous material in accordance with our improvements, a portable framework formed preferably entirely of metal is provided. This framework is mounted upon front and rear supporting wheels a and b in any ordinary and well-known manner, and is provided with-side sills 0 extending longitudinally of the machine,-preferably in oblique relation to each other,-forming a bottom framework somewhat wider at the forward feeding end of themachine than at its rear or discharging end. Longitudinal center sills are prov ded, formed of channel irons d, and these longitudinal center sills @131'6 supported upon the transverse beams e,

which are also formed preferably of channel beams with their outer ends suspended from the side sills, as hereinafter described. A plurality of metallic stays or bows f, g and h are provided, formed of angle irons, each of which extends transversely-across the framework and has its opposite ends extending downward on opposite sides of the framework and secured to one of-the transverse for needle beams e and the side sills, the upright portions of such bows forming what may be termed side stakes having their upper ends connected by the upper portions of the bows. Side stakes or upright side frame members i, j and it, formed of angle irons, extend upward and outward atan incline above the side sills to longitudinal side rails l formed of-T-irons, the stake members 2' being secured to a trans- Verse channel beamm forming the end sill, and the members 9' being secured at their bottom ends to one of the transverse needle beams. The remaining transverse needle beams are each provided at their outer ends with upright tie pieces n, formed of angle irons and secured to the sidesills, by means of which such transverse beams are suspended from the side sills, so as to support the longitudinal center sills and floor.

The inclosing shell isformed of metallic top plates 0, inclined side plates 79, and side doors 1 pivotally secured on the opposite Sides of the machine by'meansof hinges 1'. An upper transverse rail or end sill 8 extends; across the front or feed end of the machine, being formed preferably of channel iron, and curved upright stays or ribs I? extend upward and inward from the side T- rails Z near the front end of the machine. forming additional supports for the curved outer inclosing shell portion. These side T- rails are curved attheir forward ends and secured to the upper transverse end beam or rail .9 at the forward end of the'machine, and

a transverse end sill u is provided at the rear or discharge end, extending from side to side of theframe. A suitably ihc'losed framework is thus provided, adapted to cover the operating parts to a sufficient extent to prevent the hurds from being thrown out in all directions when the machine is in operation and to form a protecting cover for the rotary heaters hereinafter described.

In order to provide breaking and scutch: ing' mechanisms adapted to operate upon the stalks from their opposite ends toward their centers in such manner that they will be beaten uniformly as far as possible throughout iheir entire len th and .without being injured by excessive eating at the opposite endsor insuflicient beating throughout their central portions, rotary beaters 2 and 3 a 'e provided, which are conical in form, beiiig of less diameter at their forward than their rear ends. These beaters are each formed of a. multiplicity of spiral metallic beater bars or blades. 4, which extend longitudinally thereof, providing spaces therebetween, each of such spiral beater blades being secured to the outer ends of the arms of supporting spiders or skeleton wheels 5, which are mounted in fixed relation to the shafts 6 and 7, respectively, of-such rotary heaters, such spiders being each of larger diameter in the direction of the rear ends of the-heaters. These rotary beater-supporting shafts are journaled in bearing boxes 8, 9, 10 and 11, which are mountedin the framework of the machine, and said. shafts and heaters extend in oblique relation to each other longitudinally of the machine, converging V at substantially the longitudinal center and having their forward and smaller ends diverging so as .to form a space between the beaters in the form of-an acute angle, over which the feeding table and feeding mechanisms hereinafter described are mounted. The diverging arms of these spiders, with the spiral beater blades, thus form rotating skeleton frames which are conical in general outline and adapted to beat the material more rapidly at the large rear. ends of the heaters, and whi e the more central portion of the stalks are exposed to the action of the beater blades.

In order to enable the ntaterial to be oper-' ated upon to be thoroughly broken and cleaned, without weakening orbreaking the fibers longitudinally in the process of breaking and scutching the hurds therefrom,thus minimizing the production of tow, the outer. faces of the spiral beater blades or bars are inclined .inward from their front edges 12 rearward to their heels or rear edges 13, as shown in Fig. 5. One of the rotary beaters is made longer than the other and extends rearward beyond the point of convergence of the heaters and transversely of the machine across its longitudinal center, so that and operating themachine, a main driving,

shaft 14 is mounted at the forward or feed end of the machine, extending transversely thereof and journaled in the bearing boxes 15, 16 and 17 This main driving shaft is provided at its opposite outer ends with bevel gear wheels 18 and 19 in toothed .engagement with similar gear wheels 20 and 21, which are mounted upon and in'fixed relation to the rotary shafts of the boaters above described at the forward ends of such .1,

shafts. A main drivingbelt pulley 22 is mounted upon the main driving shaft,

adapted to be connectedjby-means of a belt with an engine or any suitable source of power. supplementary shaft 23 is mounted parallel with th main driving shaft and journaled inbearin-gboxes 24 and 25, being provided with suitable spur gears 26, 27 and 28 slidably mounted and feathered so as to rotatetherewith,'such gears being adapted to engage spur gears 29, 30 or 31, respectively, on the main shaft, according to therelative speed at which the supplementary shaft is required to be driven by the main shaft and gear mechanism. The speed of the supplementary shafts may thus be changed when desired. These spur gears of the main driving and supplementary shafts are adapted to. be moved into and out oftoothed engagement with each other by the movement of the said gears upon the supplementary shaft in eitherdireetion longitu'dinally of the main' shaft and into or out of toothed engagement with the desired gear wheel on such main shaft.

Break bars 32 and 33 extend in oblique relation to each other and in substantially. -parallel=relation to the rotary boaters above described on the inner side of such heaters and above their centers. Between the lower edges of the break bars and thespiral beater blades of the rotary heaters, the fiber is required tobe fed, in order to be broken there- One of these break bars--that which is adjacent to the longer of the two conical rotary beatersis made longer than the other and longer than the short rotary beater, so that after. the fibrous material passes beyond the short rotary beater, its central portion may be subjected to the action of the longer beater. The lower edge of this longer break bar is cut away near itsrear end,so that it extends upward'at an incline toward'the rear end adjacent tothe enlarged portion of the long heater, and the beater blades of the longer beater are provided with laterally projecting portions 301 and rearward at an incline beyondthe ends of the heaters, guiding the fihrous material away as it is discharged.

By making the rotary heaters-conical, as above described, it will be readily seen that the beating of the fiber is morenniform and better results are therefore obtained and less tow or waste produced than would be possible with rotary heaters of equal diame ter throughout their length the fibrous material being fed at a uniform speed, as required, in order to enable the feedingto be. constant. It is also very desirable to provide means for holding the fiber or projecting portions of the stalks in position to be operated upon by the rotary heaters while extending beyond the edge of the break bars against. the spiral beater blades, and after having the hurds broken or partly scutehed out. It is also desirable that the extent to which th stalks-are subjected to the action of the heaters in this manner he gaged and modified as desired. In order toaccomplish this, schutching shields 34 and 35 are provided, having concave lower scutching surfaces substantially parallel with respective rotary heaters and extending from the lower edges of the break bars in the arc of a clrcle outward over the rotary heaters, as shown particularly in Fig. 5. These shields extend substantially the entire length of the breaker bars and rotary heaters, one being longer than the other, corresponding to the difler; ence in length of such breaker bars.

To enable the scutching shields to be adjusted with relation to the rotary heaters, each shield is provided with a threaded stud 3G, and an adjusting nut 37 is mounted in threaded engagement with each of such studs and held in position by means of a supporting arm 38, which is secured tothe adjacent breaker bar and extends over the shield. The nuts being thus held constantly at the same distance from the rotary heaters, it will he readilv seen that the shields maybe moved toward or from the rotary heaters and held in any desired adjusted position and at the mosasuitable distance therefrom by the rotation of the nuts in the required direction. By means of these shields the fiber is caused to bound back against the rapidly rotating spiral heater blades, and

vibrates between the scutching shields and blades until the hurds are thoroughly beaten out and the fiber thoroughly cleaned. The extent to which the stalks are subjected to this scutching operation while between the shields and the rotating blades may be governed with great accuracy, and changed as required by the nature and condition of the material.

It is well known that hemp and other material to be operated upon. varies greatly in length, and in order to provide suitable means for. feeding such material bet-ween the breaker bars and rotary heaters and enable the feeding mechanisms and feed table to be adjusted as required by the different lengths of the stalks to he treatedso that the efliciency of the device and particularly of the feeding mechanism in operation will not be diminished by reason of the different adjusted positions of the parts, a feed table 39 is provided, which is triangular in form,

having its side edges in oblique relation to each otherand substantially parallel with the rotary heaters and breaker bars. This table is formed preferably of triangular inclined lower side portions 40 and overlapping upper triangular side portions or folds 41, formed of sheets of metal of the desired weight andmounted in sliding engagement with eachfother, so that both sides of the table are adapted to be extended or collapsed and the central or apex portion raised or lowered, as desired. The lower folds'or'sections of the table are flexibly secured near their lower edges by means of hook members 42, which are formed of angle irons having their inwardly and downwardly projecting flanges bent to form hooks,.as shown particularly in Figs. 4: and 6, such angle irons being secured to the under side of the lower sections of the feed table by means of rivets, or in any'ordinary and well known manner. Similar hooks 43 are mounted upon fixed angle iron members 44 of the supporting framework, to which they are secured by means of bol s 45, in hooked engagcment with the hooks 42 upon the feed 'table, so that the lower edges ofthe feed table are thus flexibly held in position and adapted to permit the sides of the tahle'to be adjusted to different inclines. without materially changing the position of the lower edges of the table with relation to the rotary heaters and break bars.

Theupper sections of the feed table are provided with depending flange portions 46, forming hooks, which are in hooked 'engagement with longitudinally extending metallic supporting plates 4", having upper transversely extending angles 48 adapted to engage the depending flanges of such upperfeed table members and forming a flexible joint and suitable support for holding such members in operative position. This pereachof the lower sections of the. feed table, and pipes 50, having an outer-diameter submits the feed table to be adjusted with its apex and sides at any desired angle which conditions may require. To afford additional rigidity and strength to the feed table and enable the adjustments to be made without injuriously afiecting its efliciency, 1101- lowpipes or tubes 49 are flexibly secured at their lower ends near the lower edges of stantially equal to the inner diameter of such lower pipe sections, extend slidably into the lower'pipe sections and have their upper ends flexibly secured near the upperedges of the upper sections of the feed tableas shown in Fig. 6-thus providing telescopic pipe or tube mechanism adapted to permit the adjustment of the table and form a suitable support, and means for increasing the rigidity of.the relatively'movable sections or folds of the table.

The back bone or center rail of the' co1- lapsible and extensible feed table comprises,

as already suggested, two side members 47.

These side members are secured to a central member 51, which'is mounted therebetween member of the back-bone, extend above the upper edge of such central member and provide a space'54 therebetweem'as shown in Fig. 6.

In order to provide suitable means for pivotally supporting the feed table and-permitting its movement in ,a vertical plane upon a pivotal center at the rear end thereof, a' pivoted guiding and supporting bar 55. has its rear end pivoted ina supporting bracket 56, by means of a pivot pin 57 which is directly beneath the .rearpolnt or lower end of the apex of the table. connected with the back-boneor center rail of the table by means of upright links 58 and 59, which are of equal length and in parallel relation to each other, and are thus adapted to hold the pivoted supporting and guidingbar 55 constantly inparallel relation to the'back-boneand apex o f the feed tablethe links being pivotallyconnected to the back-bone or center rail by means of pivots 60 and to the pivoted support-in and guiding bar by means of pivots 61', as s hown inl Fig: 7. l I

To permit the pivotal movement of the apex portion of the table-which is required in. order to extend andeollapse the inclined This bar is sides to correspond with the length of the stalksand at the same time prevent unde-. sirable longitudinal movement, a curved depending guide bar or segment 62 is mounted upon the center rail or back-bone of the table, a short distance forward of the rear end thereof, and extends slidably into a similarly curved or segmentalslot .63 in a guide 64, which is secured to a fixed portion of the frameworksuch.as the angle iron 44 shown in Fig. 7. This arrangement of supporting and guiding mechanisms for the apex and vertically movable central portions of the feed table enables the pivotal point of such movement to be at the end of the backbone or point of the table, without needlessly occupying the space at the point of convergence of the'rotary boaters and feed table apex. The bottom edges ofthe' table bein hinged to rigid portions of the supporting frame, the lengthening of the sides of the table is accomplished byraising the central ridge and upper leaves or folds,

without materially atfecting the position of the lower edges and extreme rear end of the table. v

In order to provide suitable means for feeding the material longitudinally of the table and laterallyof the stalks, so that the stalks are gradually fed between the break bars and rotary heaters in such manner as to enable. them to be operated upon progresslvely' and simultaneously from the -outer ends toward the center, and in order to enable such feeding mechanism to be raisedandlowered to correspond with the raising and lowering of the apex of the .feed table; we

provide what may be termed a saddle, comprising a pair of upper Z-bars 65, which are secured together and extend longitudinally over and parallel withthe apex or backbone of the-feed table throughout its entire length, I

each of such Z-bars having lowerang'ular portions 66 which extend outward laterally. A space is thus provided between the Z-bar members of the saddle ridge in the form of a slot. which extends throughout the lengthof such saddle portion and forms a guiding slot for a toothed central feed :chain 67, hereinafter more particularly described. -To form a suitable support for such feed chain, the extreme lower edges of the Z-bars are bent' out laterally, so as to form downwardly and outwardly extending inclined flanges 68, to which a pair of similarly inclinedside plate members 69 are secured. The upper edges of the inclined side plates extend inward and in parallelrelation to each other and form supporting tracks for the lower lap of the central feed chain 67, which passes-between -the Z-bar members above described.

Side flaps or wings '70, formed of sheet metal and preferably rectangular, are pivotally secured at their upper edges to the central ridge portion of the saddle, by means of hinges 71 and bolts 72. Extensible and colbreaker bar by means of a bolt 74, which lugs and supporting arms apintle or pivot side flaps of the saddle-are provided, in the form of telescoping pipes, each set of which consists of a lower pipe member 73 secured loosely or flexibly at its lower end to the passes through an elongated slot in the end of the pipe, and an outer telescoping pipe member 75 secured at its upper end, by means of a bolt 76, to the pivoted flap of the saddle near its upper edge. The lower ends of these outer pipe members are secured near the lower edge of the pivoted flap members by means ofrmetallic straps 77, which form loops of sufiicient length to permit a slight play of the pipe members longitudinally of the saddle. These telescoping pipes may thus be moved with the saddle members or plates 70 to differentinclined positions. The rear end of the saddle is so mounted" as to have a slight vertical movement in order to enable it to accommodate itself to the somewhat varying quantities of the stalks which are required to pass between it and the apex of the feed table. To accomplish this, supporting arms 78 are ivotally secured at their upper-ends to a' xed member of the framework, such as the angle iron bow or stay g, by means of supporting brackets 79, having depending lugs 80, through which pin 81 extends. The upper ends of these supporting arms may project beyond the point of pivotal connection with the fixed frame member as at 82, so as to limit the downward movement of such supporting arms; and the lower ends of such arms are connected with the rear end of the saddle by means of a bracket 83 secured to the saddle and pivotally connected with the lower ends of the supporting arms by means of a stub shaft 87 which is mounted in rear wardly extending arm portions of the bracket 83 as shown in Fig. 7. This stub shaft may also rotatably support an idler sheave pulley 90, which is mounted thereon between the arms of the bracket 83 and over which pulley the central toothed feeding chain 67 extends, as more particularly hereinafter described.

In order to provide means for supporting the front ends of the feed table and saddle mechanism and for simultaneously raising and lowering them while in parallel relation and supporting them in different adjusted positions, we provide an operating shaft 91, mounted in suitable bearings in the framework and extending transversely across the forward end thereof, as shown in Fig. 4, such shaft being provided-with a squared end portion 92 for receiving a crank, by means of which it may be operated. A pair of bevel gears 93 are mounted at each end of this shaft in toothed engagement with bevel ars 94 upon the lower inclined ends of stu shafts 95 and 96, respectively. The inclined stub shafts 96 are operatively connected, by'universal joint members, with the lower'ends of upwardly extending supporting screws 97, which arev spirally threaded and in engagement with the threaded axially perforated sleeve portions 98 of hollow pipe or tube members 99, which extend upward at an incline and are operatively connected with the saddle-on opposite sides thereof and at its front end. These sup- .porting and operating hollow tube members 99 are each provided at their upper ends with an upwardly and outwardly projecting arm 100. The outer ends of such arms are each provided with' an inclined link 101, each of such links having their upper ends pivotally connected to a sleeve 102 by means of pivots 103, and their lower ends pivotally connected to the outer ends of the arms 100 by means of pivots 104. Links 105 have their lower ends pivotally connected to the operating and supporting pipes 99 at or near their axial centers, by means of pivots 106,, and their upper ends riveted to assleeve or socket member 107 having a horizontal perforation into which extend the forward ends of the curved arms 239 which are rigidly secured to the saddle, and between which arms is mounted th e pulley or wheel 131 which supports the central or main toothed feed chain 67. A vertical guiding rod 108 -extends downward through the axial perforation of the slidable sleeve 102 and is rigidly secured at its lower end to the sleeve or socket member 107 which supports the arms 239 and thereby the forward end of the saddle and the forward portion of the main feed chain. The rod thus forms a guide adapted to hold-the saddle constantly in a central position and prevent any play thereof transversely of the machine when the saddle is being raised or lowered.

Upwardly extending supporting and operating screws 109 are secured to the inclined stub shafts 95 by means of universal joint members 110, which are identical with the universal joint members which connect the stub sh'afts'96 with the operating screws 97. Axially perforated and threaded sleeves 1 11, mounted upon and in fixed relation to pipes 112, are in threaded engagement with said screws 109. The upper ends of the pipes 112. have diminished portions 113, which are pivotally secured by'mcans of a horizontal pivot pin 114 longitudinally of the machine to a rocking box or socket mem her 115. This socket member is rockingly mounted upon and between the depending arms of a U-shaped bracket 116 by means of horizontal pivots 240 which extend transversely of the machine, such last mentioned pivots permitting the socket to rock with relation to its supporting bracket butnot transversely of the machine. The bracket member 116 issecured to the central upper portion of the feed table at the forward end thereof-preferably riveted to the angle members 48, asshown in Fig. 23. Below the upper pivotally connected ends of these" operating pipes 112,.and atequal distances from such ends, are mounted links 117, having their lower ends pivotally secured to a sleeve 118, such links extending upward and outward transversely of the machine at an incline in opposite directions from such central sleeve and beingpivotally secured to the operating tubes or pipes'112 by means of clips 119. An uprightguidingrod 120-isrigidly connected at its upper. end with the rocking or pivoted socket member 115 and extends downward from the upper end of 1 the-operating pipesthrough the sleeve 118 andjserves to guide the sleeve vertically in line with the pivotal point at the upper converging ends of such operating and supporting tubes or pipes, thus firmly bracing and guiding the telescoping pipes and 'feed table. The-bevel gears upon the operatin shaft 91,

and also those upon the stub sha ts 95 and 96 are of uniform size, so that the rotation of the shaft in one direction will turn thescrews in all the operating and supporting pipes at thesame rate of speed. The screws arealljprovided with screw-threads of the same pitch, sothat the rotation of the. operatin shaft in one direction will cause the central portion or apex of the feed table with upperv folds to: be raised at the same time w th the saddle'and at the same rate of speed, holding the saddle and the backboneof the feed table constantl in parallel relation to each other,a-nd wit stalks to be operated'upon. By reversing thedirection of rotation of ,the operating shaft, the saddle and central ridgeportion of the feed table may be lowered while in parallelrelation to each other, and all of said parts are supported in any desired all-- justed position by the means above described.

t will be noted that-the bases of the outer saddle-supporting and operating screws and pipes are a suflicient distance outside of the loweredges' of the feed table to permit the material to be operated upon to pass between the feed" table and its supporting mechanisms and such saddle-supporting and operating mechanisms. It will also be noted the required spacetherebetween to permit the passage of the' illustrated These side feed chains extend over idler mounted upon opposite sides of the feed table near the lower edges thereof parallel with and on the inner sides of the long and short break bars respectively'there being three of said toothed feed bars on each sidehaving their forward endsplvotally mount-.

ed upon supporting wheels 122, which are rotatably mounted in bearings 123, so that their axes extend in oblique relation tothe longitudinal axesfof suchtoothed bars. The

rear ends of said bars are similarly mounted upon supporting wheels not shown but :identical with the Wheels 122. The front ends of'these toothed gyrating feed bars are curved upward, as shown 'in Fig. 17, and -provided with teeth 124 of greater length than the teeth'125 at the rear ends of the rodsthe last-mentioned teeth being adapted to efiiciently feed the fibrous portions of the stalks after the hurds have been broken or Wholly or partially beaten out, and the longer teeth being adapted to feed the stalks before the hurds have been broken out.

The central toothed feed chain 67 extends around the idler sheave pulley 90, at the rear end of the saddle, and over a driving pulley 126which is mounted upon a' shaft 127, supported in. bearing portions 128 of the-forwardly extending supporting arms 129, which are secured to the how 9. From such driving wheel the said chain extends into engagement with an idler 130 and around an idler 131 at the forward end of the. saddle, which last mentioned idleris mounted upon a stub shaft 132, the lower lap of such chain passing along the underside andcenter. of the saddle through the slot between the angular portions of Z-bars 65, already described, so that its teeth project downward while moving rearward through such slot until'their lower ends pass between the upper edges" of the ridge or apex ofthe feed table. Similar toothed chains" 133 are mounted upon the saddle and supported thereby on opposite sides of'the centerv of the feed table as indicated in Figs. 1 and 6' and diagrammaticallyin Fig; 22.

puli leys 134 and 135, mounted on stub shafts 136 and 137, respectively, such stub shafts being supported upon the saddle by, means of brackets 138 and 139, asshown in Fig. 2. The lower laps of these-side feed chains extend between. Z-bars 140 on'the underside :of the hinged flaps ofthe saddle, which Z-ba-rs form tracks and guiding slots extendin the entire'length of the saddle and provi e aspace and tracks on both sides of the chain adapted to receive the supporting.

lateral shoulders of the todthed feed. chains and hold them in operative position; i.

The toothed chains 67 and 133 are of'the formed of a multi licity of links 141 arranged in pairs si e by side, each pair of construction shown in Fig. 20, eachbeing such links having a tooth 142 pivotally mounted therebetween upon a pivot 143, and each of such teeth being (provided withan integral arm 144 exten ing at right angles to the tooth portion proper and mov-' able into engagement with the end of the next adjacent link or'pair of side link members. Each of the link members is provided with a laterally projecting shoulder-145 at one end, the shouldered ends of the links being bent outward laterally so as to receive the ends of the next adjacent link members t-herebetween, to which they are flexibly attached by means of a rivet 146. The pulleys over which these toothed feed chains pass may all be of the form shown in Figs. 18 and 19, each of such pulleys consisting of a main body portion 147, having an annular peripheral slot 148, through which the teeth or integral arm portions of theteeth pass.

They are also provided with flange portions 149 and sprocket teeth 150 on each side of such annular peripheral slot. These sprocket teeth are of course required on all wheels which drive the chains, and operatively engage the lateral shoulders of the chains, but may be dispensed with if desired upon such idler wheels as merely serve to support and guide the chains.

All of the chain-engaging wheels and all rotating shafts upon which such wheels or other gear wheels are mounted,'-are provided with non-rotating-shields, consisting of hollow tubes 151, mounted and encircling the shafts and having annular stationary shield disks 152 secured thereto, with their outer peripheral edges in engagement with otherwise annular shoulder portions 153 of the wheels on opposite'sides thereof, as shown in Fig. 19. This covering for all of the rotating members of the machine is essential, for the reason that the fibrous material cannot be prevented from winding around the rotating parts and ultimately injuring or stopping the operation of the machine.

In order to provide suitable means for feeding the stalks to be operated upon to the main feed table, a preliminary feed table is provided at the forward end of the main feed table. This preliminary feed table consists of a flat upright portion 154, having guiding slots 155 on each side, formed between Z-bars 156, for guiding toothed feed chains, such as the one illustrated in Fig.

wheel 160 upon a shaft 161 and the sprocketteeth of the sprocket wheel 162 upon shaft 167-shown in Figs. 16 and 22. This central chain passes upward along the central slot to the upper edge and rear end of the preliminary feed table to a point adjacent to the central toothed feeding chain 67 ,and

then downward through an'opening in the main feed table, under an idler 164 and into engagement with the sprockets, as described. The toothed side chains have their transverse shouldersin engagement with the Z- bars on opposite sides of the slots which form guides for such chains, and move, preferably, at a slightly greater speed than the central chain. These side chains extend over peripherally slotted sheave pulleys 165 at the bottom of the supplementary feed table and are driven by toothed peripherally slotted sprocket wheels 166, which are mounted upon the same shaft 167 on which the driving sprocket 162 is mounted. This shaft 167-as shown in Figs. 7 and 16--is so mounted as to keep the chains constantly sufliciently taut to operate properly, notwithstanding the movement of the feed table to different adjusted positions. In order to accomplish this, the shaft is mounted .upon an upwardly and rearwardly extending supporting arm 168, having its lower end pivotally mounted upon a supporting bracket 169 and its upper end secured to' non-rotatable sleeves 170, which encircle the shaft 167, and an upper arm 171 which extends upwardly and rearwardly at an incline and has its lower end secured to the shaft and its upper end to a depending portion of the back-bone or center rail of the feed table by means of a pivot pin 172.

Both ends of each of these supporting arms are forked, as shown in Fig. 16, so as to enable them to be pivotally mounted and yet hold them and the floating-shaft 167 against any undesirable transverse play or tipping of the shaft.

A driving sprocketv wheel 173 upon this bodily movable shaft 167, and in fixed relation thereto, is operatively connected with,

the supplementary shaft 23, being mounted in engagement with a sprocket 174 on such supplementary shaft. This supplementary shaft, as already described, is adapted to be connected with the main driving shaft and operated thereby.

As above suggested, the movement of the side chains upon the supplementary feed table at a slightly faster speed than the central chain which may also be a feed chain causes the opposite ends of the stalks to advance more rapidly than the central portions, and the upper portion of the supplementary feed table has upper side portions, which, as shown in Fig. 9, are inclined where such supplementary table is connected with the main feed table, at anangle corresponding to the incline at which the sides of the main feed table are most commonly used. This inclined upper portion of the 

